The arch is a structure which has been employed in architecture and engineering for thousands of years. Arches are commonly used to support roofs and ceilings in buildings. Structural arches are typically made of steel, and are often heavy and costly to install. It is necessary to employ heavy machinery, such as a crane, to lift conventional arches to the required height in order to construct roofs and ceilings. The transportation of conventional arches to the construction site and the subsequent unloading and handling often entails great expenditures of time and labor as the arches must be hauled in using multiple trucks and unloaded using machinery.
Furthermore, conventional steel arches are often thick, and obscure the light passing through them.
There is therefore, a need for a structural arch system which is adaptable and suitable for a variety of applications while providing similar load bearing strength as a traditional arch, at a significant reduction in expense and labor compared with construction using conventional arched structural members.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.